AppleGrabsTopSpotInJ.D.PowerCustomerSatisfactionStudy...Again

Last week, Apple came out with a new "Why iPhone" promotional webpage. On the webpage, Apple proclaims: "In eight straight studies by J.D. Power and Associates — that’s every study since the first iPhone was introduced — iPhone has been ranked 'Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Consumer Smartphones.'" As it turns out, Apple now has to update the webpage with a new opening statement that reads, "In nine straight studies by J.D. Power and Associates … "
That's right. For the ninth consecutive study, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones in customer satisfaction.
According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study, customer satisfaction among smartphone users are measured using the following criteria: performance (33 percent), physical design (23 percent), features (22 percent), and ease of operation (22 percent).
Out of 1,000 points, Apple achieves a score of 855. J.D. Power and Associates notes that Apple performs particularly well in physical design and ease of operation.
As indicated in the graph of the study above, the industry average is 796 points. Nokia is just below the average with a score of 795, followed closely by Samsung with 793, Motorola with 792, and HTC with 790. Rounding up the study are LG with 744 and RIM's BlackBerry with 732.
The study was conducted by J.D. Power and Associates between July and December 2012. And it is based on evaluations by 9,767 smartphone users who have used their current mobile devices for less than one year.
Evidently, most of these users love their iPhones.